New measures in the healthcare system
More than 30 hospitals in Romania will receive modern medical equipment under 20 million euros worth of contracts signed by the government.
Mihai Pelin, 10.01.2018, 13:27
The Romanian healthcare system needs shock treatment of its medical infrastructure, modern equipment and motivating its specialist staff, says the Social Democratic prime minister Mihai Tudose. In his opinion, considerable investment is needed in infrastructure to solve the problems that have not been addressed in this sector. He says the government is considering building the eight regional hospitals and the republican hospital laid down in the government’s programme. Mihai Tudose has also spoken about the need to have motivated medical staff who has to be well-paid in order to be highly performing.
The prime minister recalls that in the first eight months of 2017, the average income in the healthcare sector grew by more than 35%. He says salaries in the medical sector will continue to grow following the application of a new salary law on January 1st 2018. He also believes modern and highly performing equipment is needed for correct diagnosis and implicitly for efficient treatment. To this end, Tudose has announced the signing of contracts to purchase new imaging equipment worth around 20 million euros for 34 hospitals around the country and in Bucharest. In his opinion, this is an important step towards ensuring quality medical services.
Mihai Tudose: “It’s a step towards normality so that everyone in Romania who goes to the nearest hospital or who has an emergency can benefit from everything he or she is entitled to.”
The healthcare minister Florian Bodog says the signing of these contracts is part of a goal set out at the start of his term to make sure that every hospital in Romania possesses imaging equipment.
Florian Bodog: “Under the governing programme, all county hospitals in Romania lacking a CT scanner and an MRI scanner must be equipped with them. We will start providing these hospitals with such equipment so that they won’t have to rely on private providers.”
The purchasing contracts are financed under a loan agreement worth a total of 250 million euros signed by Romania with the World Bank, which was accessed in 2014 and unblocked in 2017. Apart from purchasing imaging equipment, the agreement also provides for the building of new emergency rooms, anaesthesia and intensive care units, burns units and operating rooms, the upgrading of existing specialist centres and the purchase of the necessary equipment for these centres.
